Farmer Questioned In Tibbetts Case Takes Polygraph

Wayne Cheney, a pig farmer who has been questioned about missing Iowa woman Mollie Tibbetts, claims he has taken a polygraph test in connection with the case.

According to the Des Moines Register, Cheney submitted to a polygraph test on Thursday and told Fox News that he does not yet know the results. He took the test just one day after asserting he had “nothing to hide” and refusing to take a polygraph exam.

"I don't need to," he said to Fox News at the time. "It's stupid."

Other than hedging on the polygraph exam, Cheney has cooperated with law enforcement. According to the Des Moines Register, he has participated in interviews with law enforcement and allowed the police to conduct a search of his 70-acre farm and possessions. He also said he has never met Tibbetts.

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Cheney has not been named a person of interest in the Tibbetts case, but he has had some trouble with the law in the past. CBS reports that, according to Iowa court records, Cheney has been convicted of stalking, harassment, trespassing, and violating orders of protection. He also has charges in seven other cases that have been dismissed.

Law enforcement officials have resisted revealing much information about the case. They have also declined to publicly name any suspects. In a press conference on August 3, Kevin Winker, the director of investigative operations for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said that doing so “gives [law enforcement] the best opportunity to resolve the investigation.”

Tibbetts, a 20-year-old student at the University of Iowa, has been missing since July 18. She was last seen jogging through her hometown of Brooklyn, IA, about 13 miles from Cheney’s farm.

Not many details are known about the investigation, which is now in its third week. Investigators canceled a press conference scheduled for last Tuesday, saying there was nothing new to share, and rescheduled another press conference scheduled for Friday to this coming Monday.

A reward fund for Tibbetts’s return has reached over $332,000. Anyone with information about Tibbetts’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office at 641-623-5679 or tips@poweshiekcosheriff.com.

Refinery29 has reached out to the Powesheik County Sheriff’s Office for comment. We will update this post as more information becomes available.